Festival fever: Jashan-e-Chitral begins instead of ill-fated Shandur polo tournament

Teams from Gilgit, Chitral will participate as per tradition.

CHITRAL: A 10-day Jashan-e-Chitral festival started on Tuesday in place of the world renowned Shandur Polo tournament.

While polo will be the pièce de résistance, in coming days the festival will also feature archery, horse racing, football, cricket, paragliding, donkey polo, wrestling, chess, literary gatherings and cultural shows.

Jashan-e-Chitral was inaugurated by Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Shoaib Jadoon. “The festival was organised keeping the interests of the people of Chitral in mind and their love for sports,” said Jadoon.

Polo teams from Gilgit will compete and exhibit their skills in Chitral instead of Shandur. Such an endeavour will further strengthen the decades-old cultural relationship between the two cities, shared the deputy commissioner.

A guard of honour was presented by contingents of Chitral Scouts, police, border police as well as students at the inauguration. Paragliders displayed their skills to a large crowd of locals present in the audience.

After much deliberation, Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) decided on August 19 to not host the Shandur Polo Festival this year. The festival was initially delayed after floods triggered by monsoon rains swept away main roads, suspending traffic between G-B and other regions. Security concerns – heightened by the Nanga Parbat attack – eventually led to the cancelation of the event.

Shandur is the world’s highest polo ground, where teams from G-B and Chitral play polo in its original form – the way the game was played in the early 20th century – at 3,700 metres.

The festival attracts nearly 10,000 people including celebrities and public figures each year. Alongside some of the toughest games of polo, the event also showcases folk music and dance, and a camping village.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2^nd, 2013.